PDC World Championship Darts 2008 review (Xbox 360)

Before we get started, let it be entered into the records that PDC World Championship Darts has a good go at giving you your money’s worth.

Its presentation, graphics and gameplay options are all what you’d expect to see from a top sports sim.

Solid player models of such darting supremos as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld make their way to the oche through cheering fans while rock music plays.

It’s all very WWE-esque and, dare I say, just like the real thing. Indeed, those familiar with television coverage of the sport will recognise the game’s commentary, provided by Sid Waddell, who pipes in with “Naffarama!” after a bad shot, as well as this ‘choice nugget’: “Take it from me, a snake covered in Vaseline couldn’t slip in any easier.” Right.

Control is simple and it works well. You aim a target at the board with the left stick and throw by pulling down then up on the right – mimicking the player’s arm – trying to hit the sweet spot on a power metre.

In a nice touch, those nerve-wracking checkout shots and all-important 180 throws are made extra-tense by the vibration of the joypad and distortion of the crosshair. Once you’ve mastered that, there isn’t much more to it.

This is PDC’s problem. Yes, a career mode has been included, allowing players to head to the most famous darts events in the world, there’s an online mode, plus an array of party games, but the title becomes its own worst enemy in that it is just too simple.

It can’t be easy making a darts game and PDC shows this, which is a shame because Oxygen Games has had a good stab at it, improving things significantly since the Wii, PC and other versions appeared months ago.

They’ve clearly worked hard since then, improving the graphics and sound, putting in instant replays and making it all as authentic as possible.

But one simple fact remains - the crux of the game remains a guy throwing a pin into a board. And that’s it. Unless you are as hardcore about darts as Mr Waddell, you might start getting sick of the game pretty quickly.

4/10

Michael Thornton